“Legitimate ride of a lifetime for me,” says Ben Gravy about what he calls the “longest wave in North America.” After watching, it’s hard to disagree with that last sentiment. The surprising thing about it, aside from the length of Ben’s ride, is that it wasn’t on purpose.
“While up in Canada we accidentally stumbled upon a three-mile (about five kms, since it’s in Canada) long wave that literally just kept going,” Gravy wrote. “This night I surfed the wave for 2.2 miles and Robbie rode it for 2.6 miles and claims he cut out at the mall. If he kept going who knows how long this thing breaks? Is this the longest wave in North America?”
The wave he’s talking about isn’t a normal wave. It’s a tidal bore, which are formed as an incoming tide works its way up a river, which of course, is flowing in the opposite direction. The result can be some of the longest waves in the world. This particular wave occurs on the Salmon River in Nova Scotia.
The trip, like any trip worth taking, wasn’t a breeze. It started off with a mangled bearing (grease those things, people) and a few lost wetsuits. But Ben Gravy didn’t make it to where he is by drowning in his own sorrows. He got there because he takes on challenges, smiles at them, and leaps over them.
Although Ben certainly has put in the work when it comes to surfing the bigger stuff, he’s a guy who likes to work for his waves. By “work,” I mean hunt. Search. Traverse the country in search of anything rideable, no matter the size. Surfing, after all, is often about the search, not the ride. The ride is a cherry on top of a wonderful cake made up of the search for the cherry on top.
The Salmon River tidal bore is a wild one. Not a huge one, but a long one. Twice a day, the Bay of Fundy’s extreme tidal shifts hammer upstream, creating one of the longest ridable tidal bores in North America.
“I feel like the more obscure that it is,” Gravy said as the sun set behind him, “and the less evidence that there are waves here, the more epic it is.”
